The present invention relates to board games having a collapsible board, and, in particular, it relates to a flat game board which folds into a container forming an enclosure for holding and storing game pieces associated with the board game.
In the past, a number of folding game boards, i.e., game boards capable of being folded into a reduced size, have been marketed. Generally, the game board is made of relatively stiff material, with portions hinged together so that the game board is folded flat when the game has been completed. Once the game board is folded, the game board and all the game pieces associated with the game board are placed in a separate box or container. Eventually, the box becomes worn and begins to fall apart with the game pieces becoming lost or misplaced.
Patents which describe folding board games are Shulman U.S. Pat. No. 1,793,256 and Houseknecht U.S. Pat. No. 2,147,900. The Shulman patent describes a foldable checkerboard having compartments for removably receiving drawers or receptacles containing checkers which are used in conjunction with the board. The checkerboard may also have a set of pockets for receiving a set of dominoes. The board is foldable upon itself and is provided with a mechanism for securing the free ends together to prevent the displacement or loss of the checkers.
The Houseknecht patent describes a game board consisting of four hingedly connected sections with two of the sections having their bottom faces recessed. The recessed sections jointly form a container when the board is folded for storing the pieces used in conjunction with the game board.